


In The Epicentre Of This Mess

by aconfederacyofscript



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-16
Updated: 2015-03-16
Packaged: 2018-03-18 05:54:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3558605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aconfederacyofscript/pseuds/aconfederacyofscript





	In The Epicentre Of This Mess

The air feels thick. There’s the soft beeping of the monitors muted by the thick glass, the steady breathing of Bobbi Morse who twirls her batons while walking around the secured room, the tapping of Jemma Simmons’ fingers against the tablet. Fitz is scrunched up in a corner, his eyes rimmed red.

And there’s Skye, behind the thick glass. She’s sitting there with the buds of her iPod in her ears, a frightened look on her face. Jemma doesn’t think she’s ever seen the girl so scared. Not when Quinn put a bullet in her abdomen, not when she jumped out of The Bus, not when Ward turned out to be Hydra, not when Skye thought she actually was Hydra herself.

Skye’s eyes grow wide when her hands tremble again and the lights flicker. Jemma presses the intercom button in the glass. The red letters across it anger her. Danger. Jemma didn’t believe that. She didn’t believe that this turn of event with the Obelisk would make Skye dangerous.

“Skye,” she says and wide deer eyes shoot up to meet hers. Jemma smiles. “Deep breaths, okay. I’m right here.”

Skye sucks in a shuddering breath and the lights flick on again. “You can’t let me out of here. I’m not coming out of here. And no way in hell you’re coming in, Jemma. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You’re not going to hurt anyone, Skye,” Jemma answers as if it’s the simplest thing in the world and twists her head to look at Bobbi, who stopped mid-twirl, but smiles reassuringly nonetheless.

“But what if she is?” Fitz sounds quietly from the back.

“Don’t you  _dare_  say things like that, Leopold Fitz,” Jemma practically growls and glares at him. If it were possible to render someone unconscious with a look, Jemma would have perfected that art in this very second. “She is not going to hurt anyone. Get out, both of you – with all due respect, Agent Morse.”

Bobbi wasn’t one to make a scene. Not about these things. She knows exactly what’s going on. It’s not personal. This time it had everything to do with Fitz and the fact that Jemma needed time to get Skye back on track.

“Let’s go, Fitz.”

She winks at Jemma and squeezes her shoulder gently before scooping Fitz up and moving him outside.

“I’m sorry, Skye. We…”

“What if I am dangerous, Jemma? You didn’t put me in here, I’m very well aware of the fact that I put myself in this aquarium… but what if Fitz is right?”

“He’s  _wrong_. You’re not going to hurt anyone.”

“How can you be so sure?” Skye’s voice breaks and the light flicker again. There’s a loud crack when the glass of a lamp bursts and it rains shards. “See!”

“Skye. Look at me. Just  _look_  at me.”

Jemma’s heart skips a beat when her fingers run over the tablet on her own accord. The doors hiss when they slide open and she can see Skye gulp.

“Jem, don’t be so reckless.”

“I’m not. You’re just being stubborn.”

More tapping closes the door behind her. It’s probably the closest she’s been to Skye in the last five days. It had been five days since Skye asked to be locked into the pod. It was five days since Jemma heard Skye’s voice in real time, instead croaked over the intercom.

“I’m not scared of you. And you’re not going to hurt me.”

“I would never intentionally do that,” Skye croaks and she wipes a few tears from her cheeks.

“Good. Can I sit next to you?” Jemma asks patiently and waits for Skye to nod before she moves any further. She nods and Jemma sits down next to her. Not too close, not too far away.

There is a lot they don’t know about Skye’s… condition. Sometimes the pod would randomly tremble, at times more vigorous than others. The worst quake yet was when she actually managed to burst all the lights and knocked over a tray. It came in uneven intervals. Sometimes it was at five in the morning when Jemma was up watching Skye and it was obvious that she had a nightmare, sometimes it came with spikes of her emotions. Sometimes it came in the middle of a conversation. Sometimes she didn’t quake for hours.

“How can you be so sure?” Skye whispers and instinctively reaches out to touch Jemma, but drops her hand halfway in the motion.

“Because I’ve been in here before, Skye. I check your vitals when you sleep every few days, because everything seems to be most steady when you sleep. I should’ve told you – I sound like a creep now. It’s just that I didn’t want you to be alone.”

“Thank you.” Skye’s smile is genuine.

“You can touch me, Skye.” Jemma smiles and holds out her hand. Skye swallows hard before she tentatively takes it. Her shoulders immediately lose some tension and her eyes flutter closed for a second.

“I really missed you,” Skye whispers and huffs when new tears spill over her cheeks. “I’m so scared.”

Skye leans into her touch when Jemma strokes her cheek with her thumb and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.

“I know you are. But I’m right here, alright. You will get through this, you will learn to control this and you will be  _fine_. Regardless of what anyone else is saying.”

Skye just nods and squeezes Jemma’s fingers carefully. “Out of all people you’re the one I’m most afraid to hurt, but yet you’re the one who’s here.”

“I’ve grown fond of your shenanigans, Skye, and also really fond of you. Anyway, now is probably not the time.” She laughs, but shakes her head and plays with Skye’s fingers. “Never mind.”

“No, tell me. Everything has gone to shit already anyway,” Skye says and rests her hand on Jemma’s thigh. She smiles and stares at Skye’s hand. It feels so natural.

“At times like this I like to think of things I know are true. I like to think about the first law of thermodynamics. In this particular case I like to think about how biology might have altered your body and I like to squeeze my brain for all the information I have there on geography and especially earthquakes and there is surprisingly little information there, I can tell you that.”

Skye presses the back of her hand against her mouth to suppress a grin when Jemma smiles. “I’m sure you’re fine. Please continue, I like your stories.”

“Okay. I also like to think about you. Because even though everything has changed, nothing has changed. I just want you to know that regardless of what happens, I’m right here with you and I’m not going anywhere. Even though I might be in the literal epicentre of this…  _mess_  with you, nothing changed about… about the way I feel about you, Skye.”

Skye looks at her as if she personally put the stars in the sky that night and Jemma smiles softly. Her heart flutters. Skye managed to turn her insides to mush and turn her into a sentimental sap. She always had a weak spot for the hacktivist. She rubs her thumb in lazy circles over the back of Skye’s hand.

“Nothing changed about the way I feel about you either, Jem. I’m just…”

“Scared, I know. It’s okay.”  
  
 Skye laughs tentatively and leans her head on Jemma’s shoulder. Jemma presses a kiss into her hair and Skye sighs.

“Okay.”


End file.
